Howa has been making firearms forever:
Specificially, for the Imperial Japanese Army and the post-war Japanese Defense Forces. American gunsmiths quickly found that the incredibly strong Arisaka action could be broadly adapted to a wide range of wildcat cartridges.
Howa also made sporter rifles for Smith & Wesson, marketed under the S&W logo. I had one in .223Rem which was pretty much as accurate as my Rem 788 [which was very accurate, indeed.] Plus beautifully finished wood.